Aside from the cell phone, one device that has
become very popular among the business professional is the personal digital
assistant, or PDA. While these devices tend to have a variety of shapes and
forms, they all serve the same primary goal: to allow us to have much needed
information easily accessible wherever we go.

While the PDA has been with
us for quite a while now, early designs didn't appeal to the mass market.
Devices such as the Apple Newton were generally considered too big for a PDA,
and the relatively poor handwriting recognition made it rather difficult to
enter data reliably and quickly. As such, these early attempts at creating the
ideal digital assistant were used only by a small minority of users.

This all changed with the
introduction of the PalmPilot 1000 Connected Organizer. Here was a device that
was pocketable, extremely easy to use, and most of all, utilized a relatively
simple handwriting recognition engine called Graffiti. Although limited in terms
of memory (a measly 256KB), many consumers snapped up the device. Eventually,
the PalmPilot 5000, PalmPilot Personal, and PalmPilot Professional PDA's were
introduced, with each device adding various features such as more memory and
backlit displays.

Despite these additional enhancements,
one thing remained the same: ease of use. By keeping with this principle, Palm
Computing (like 3Com and US Robotics before them) has been able to attain a
substantial lead in the PDA market. Not even the Microsoft juggernaut, with the
Pocket PC, has been able to put a large dent in Palm's market
share.

Today we'll be taking a look at a
particular PDA that at first glance may appear to be a Palm clone, but upon
closer inspection, turns out to be far more. This device is called the Visor
Deluxe, and it is manufactured by Handspring; a company founded by the same
people who developed the original PalmPilot. So what makes the Visor different
from your average Palm? As it turns out, quite a bit. The following is a list of
specifications of the different Visors available at the current time.

Handspring
Visor Series

Visor Solo

Visor (standard)

Visor Deluxe

Operating System

Palm OS 3.1

Palm OS 3.1

Palm OS 3.1

RAM

2MB

2MB

8MB

Sync. Cradle

No

Yes (USB)

Yes (USB)

Available Colours

Graphite

Graphite

Graphite, Ice, Blue, Green, Orange

Cover

Snap on Cover

Snap on Cover

Snap on Cover Leather Slipcase

MSRP (USD)

$149

$179

$249

In addition, the following is a list of features common to all
Visors...

While some of these
may seem similar to the current Palm organizers currently available, there are a
few substantial differences. The first is the fact that you can purchase the
Visor Solo without the synchronization cradle. This is perfect for those who are
looking for a standard electronic organizer, but who may not necessarily require
the use of PC synchronization.

Secondly, the sync cradles included with
the standard Visor connect to a PC (or current generation Macintosh) via USB. By
going with a USB based connection, Handspring has been able to offer a
substantial speed advantage when synchronizing data, as compared to any Palm
currently available. While Palm Computing does offer a USB connectivity kit, it
is an extra cost item. In addition, having the USB connectivity enables the
Visor to work out of the box with any Macintosh with a USB port (most G3's and
later systems).

The largest
difference between the Visor and virtually any other PDA on the market, is
the revolutionary Springboard slot. This has the capability to give the user
an opportunity to expand the device in ways other hand helds cannot.